Data collection remains a persistent problem in the pursuit of data quality. Very often, the input of information by individual respondents is achieved through the use of a form. Printed forms have been in use for many years, but remain notoriously error-prone and confusing. The introduction of online, web-based data collection instruments has not led to improvements in form design; instead, the limitations of print forms have been faithfully reproduced, despite the possibilities of programmatic assistance.
FIG. 1 illustrates just some of the difficulties a user encounters when dealing with typical web-based forms. With reference to FIG. 1, a list of options 30 from a web-based form 32 is shown. The selected radio button 34 is difficult to see, due at least in part to the relatively small size of the selection area (typically a button or a box). Selection 34 can also be difficult to locate if the user wishes to later revisit the response provided for the list of options 30. The user may find that selection 34 becomes lost within a myriad of other options (36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46) and other interface items 50 that appear on the form 32.
As another example, when the completion of certain items depends upon earlier selections, users are typically instructed to ignore irrelevant items and jump to an arbitrary point. This makes it difficult for the user to keep track of required items. Furthermore, if the user skips an item, intending to return to it later, it is difficult to pick out this incomplete item from the deliberately ignored irrelevant items. Also, if data validation is performed at all, it occurs after the web-based form submission. This results in the user being confronted with an alert box and instructions to 1) return to the form, 2) locate the missing items, 3) complete them, and 4) attempt to submit once again. Thus in light of these and other problems, the typical web-based data collection instrument, like its printed predecessors, presents the user with a slow, painstaking, and error-prone process.